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Alternian Empire
The Alternian Empire was the empire founded by the troll species in the webcomic Homestuck. It was an aggressive, imperialistic, galactic empire that spanned a significant portion or the entirety of the trolls' home galaxy. The empire had a system in which only members of the fuchsia-blooded female caste could become the ruling monarch. The last reigning Empress of the Alternian Empire was Her Imperious Condescension. The homeworld of the Trolls was Alternia. History In the pre-scratched version of the Alternian universe, where Alternia was known as Beforus, trolls were much more peaceful with no need for constant violence and war. Fuschiabloods also held the highest political positions, but the Hemospectrum worked differently than it did in the post-scratch universe. The caste system mandated that those higher up in society had to nurture and care for those lower in the caste system. The Beforan trolls most likely had an empire, as they were ruled by benevolent empresses, but they were not aggressive and imperialistic like their Alternian counterparts were. With the influence of , the Alternian Empire was founded at some point in time. Before or after the empire was founded, the hemospectrum was put into place as the official caste system. There were at least two rebellions that were organized against the dominance of the highbloods. The second rebellion, known as the Summoner's Rebellion, was started by the Summoner as a violent uprising against the upper castes and the oppressive Imperial government. The rebellion was brutally crushed by the forces of the Empress, whom decentralized the troll race to prevent any future rebellions; all trolls who reach a certain age would leave Alternia and be conscripted into the Imperial military, to conquer alien worlds and expand the empire. Those who reach the age of conscription are forever exiled from their homeworld, never being able to step foot on it nor given the chance to reenter civilian life. Also, likely as the previous rebellion, all limebloods began to be hunted to extinction due to its members' possession of powerful abilities that threatened the authority and status of the highbloods. After the banishing of all adults into space, Alternia was only populated by children and would continue to be for the rest of the empire's history. According to Vriska and , the Alternian Empire had a greatly powerful warmachine, so much so that they . It is also possible that the Alternian Empire had begun expanding to other galaxies by the time of Hiveswap: Act 1, as stated by Xefros Tritoh in his conversation with Joey Claire. However, it is unknown if Xefros' statements were just exaggerations of the empire's military might, a piece of Imperial propaganda he repeated, or was a true assertion. If it is true, then the Alternian Empire possibly spanned the entire galaxy or most of it by the time of Homestuck. The end of the Alternian Empire occurred when Alternia experienced The Reckoning. During the event, Gl'bgolyb released The Vast Glub, which eventually spread to the entire universe, wiping out the entire troll species, except for the Condesce, the Handmaid, and the trolls who had escaped into the Medium. Society and Culture Hemospectrum Blood caste was everything in this society and determined a troll's role in life. At the top, Fuschias ruled over the population as empresses, and at the bottom, Burgundies were merely laborers and servants. Highbloods held a tight grip on society and expected lowbloods to grovel at their feet. Lowbloods, particularly the rustbloods, were treated as disposable and were frequently murdered by higher blood castes, mostly for minor things or no reason at all. Said highblood(s) would not be tried or reprimanded for killing lowbloods. In the military, the Hemospectrum also played a part in determining a troll's position, as some blood castes were naturally better suited to certain roles than others. Government and Administration The empire was a decentralized autocratic monarchy with planets having considerable autonomy. Her Imperious Condescension was the Empress who decentralized the empire from the homeworld, with each planet governing itself instead of waiting for Imperial orders from Alternia. Once she fully decentralized her imperial realm, with each planet governed by loyal highbloods, the Empress could finally focus on expanding her empire across the galaxy and eventually the universe. In Alternian society, it was up to the purplebloods to enforce the dominance of the highbloods and ensure that the laws and will of the Empress were followed by the masses. They acted as the enforcers and possibly the governors of Imperial worlds, and gave orders to the indigobloods beneath them to assist in the subjugation of the lower blood castes. The indigobloods in turn gave orders to the ceruleanbloods beneath them, and so on and so fourth until the oppression of the masses was inescapable. The violetbloods above the purplebloods held aristocratic status, but even they could be killed by purples if need be or for little reason, as Dualscar was executed by the Grand Highblood despite his assistance in tracking down a pirate queen. However, it is unknown if his execution was tolerated by the Empress because she disliked him or if purplebloods were given the power to execute anyone they wanted (save the Empress herself), or if only the Grand Highblood could execute anyone he pleased. In Hiveswap, fully robotic versions of Imperial Drones were seen working for the Heiress for military purposes; It is uncertain if this is unique to this era of Alternia's history, or if imperial drones were always a part of the empire. Becoming Empress A unique process is associated with becoming the Alternian Empress, restricted to only the fuchsiablooded caste. To become Empress, one must challenge the currently reigning monarch to a fight to the death. It is demanded by both the citizenry and Gl'bgolyb, their shared lusus. The Empresses have to kill all challengers to their throne, with the exception of at least one Fuchsiablood, as someone has to tend to Gl'bgolyb and keep it from releasing The Vast Glub. Economy The Alternian Empire had a post-scarcity economy, as resources and consumables did not seem to be an issue for their society. Food, clothing, technology and other things could be acquired very easily, however some things were exclusive to the higher castes, such as circular discs. Money however does exist in Alternian society, and trolls regularly exchange currency for goods and services. In Hiveswap Friendsim, many of the shops seen were automated, although a few were operated by actual working trolls. Alternian Military All or almost all trolls are destined to be conscripted into the Imperial military of Alternia. Once they reach maturity, trolls are forcibly moved off-world to conquer alien worlds in the name of "Alternian glory". They will spend the rest of their lives away from their homeworld, never being able to set foot on it ever again. Most trolls would probably die in an alien combat zone or aboard the many Imperial warships. Branches of the Alternian Military *'Alternian Navy': While it was is never shown anywhere in the comic, it can be assumed that Alternian warships look similar to the Empress' flagship. *'Archeradicator': This unit was implied to involve archery. *'Cavalreaper': This unit was most likely the Imperial cavalry. *'Laughsassin': This unit was a class of "performer-assassin". They were most likely stealth-oriented. *'Ruffiannihilator': This unit was an unarmed class of exceptionally strong infantry. They essentially pummeled their enemies to death with their fists. *'Subjugglator': A caste of cultish military/police and enforcers who ensured the dominance of the highbloods in Alternian society. They were a purpleblood-only group. *'Threshecutioner': A class of soldiers who wielded sickles in battle. They apparently were the most lethal and accomplished of all Imperial forces, as it was they who conquered the most planets. According to , threshecutioner flaysquads included greenbloods and bluebloods of unspecified caste. Alternian FTL Method Instead of using traditional FTL drives like most interstellar/intergalactic empires, the Alternians used yellowblooded individuals as biological, psionic FTL drives. Yellowbloods were commonly enslaved for their powerful psionic abilities and one of the uses of their incredible power was propelling Alternian warships at faster than light speeds. One particular psionic, The Helmsman, was the psychic stationed aboard the Battleship Condescension, the personal flagship of The Condesce. He was possibly the most powerful psionic in Alternian history, as his power made the Empress' ship the fastest in the entire Imperial Navy. Category:Homestuck concepts